HONOLULU — Aside from the remarkable fact that he’s doing what he’s doing in the National Football League, former BYU quarterback Taysom Hill — the so-called “Swiss Army Knife” of the New Orleans Saints — doesn’t have a lot on current BYU senior Austin Kafentzis when it comes to playing multiple positions on the football field.
Kafentzis has played in six different spots for the Cougars, even more if you count special teams.
Fittingly, for several reasons we will get to later, the former record-setting high school quarterback’s final college game will be played as a linebacker at Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium. BYU (7-5) meets the homestanding and revenge-minded Rainbow Warriors (9-5) in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl (6 p.m. MST, ESPN) on Christmas Eve.
“It hasn’t been an easy road, but I am so proud I was able to do it and stick it out and that I am still playing. I am proud that I never gave up, when a lot of people might have.” — BYU’s Austin Kafentzis
“It is pretty crazy, actually, this being my last game,” Kafentzis said last week. “You never really think it will come, but it does, and it comes fast. People always tell you to not take anything for granted and it goes by fast. You don’t think it will, but it does.”
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Kafentzis’ journey from highly recruited prep star at Sandy’s Jordan High School to Wisconsin, to Nevada (where his offensive coordinator was current UH coach Nick Rolovich) to a junior college in Arizona and finally to BYU has been well-documented, as has his move from quarterback to receiver to running back and then over to defense for the Cougars.
He remains grateful for every opportunity he received. He will graduate in April with a degree in economics, “one of the most difficult majors here at BYU,” noted linebackers coach Ed Lamb.
“It hasn’t been an easy road, but I am so proud I was able to do it and stick it out and that I am still playing,” Kafentzis said. “I am proud that I never gave up, when a lot of people might have.”
Defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said although Kafentzis didn’t put up numbers like some other defensive stars who are graduating — Dayan Ghanwoloku, Austin Lee and Trajan Pili, for instance — he will not be forgotten.
“He is definitely a team favorite, a coach’s favorite, because of the way he is,” Tuiaki said. “He gets along with everybody.”
A devout Catholic, Kafentzis says he found a home where the majority of the players and more than 90 percent of the students are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I have a lot of great relationships with these guys on the team that I will have forever,” he said. “You create strong bonds with everyone, and I am just happy that I am able to call BYU my home. It has been an amazing journey and I am glad I was able to do it.”
Lesser known about Kafentzis are his ties to Hawaii’s football program.
His father, Kyle, was a star defensive back for UH, and his uncles Mark, Kurt, Kent and Sean — also the sons of former Montana receiver Andrea Kafentzis — played defense for the Rainbow Warriors as well. In 1984, the year BYU won the national championship, Kurt, Kent and Kyle Kafentzis comprised three-fourths of UH’s secondary.
BYU won the 1984 game 18-13 at Aloha Stadium, thanks in part to a remarkable defensive play made by BYU safety Kyle Morrell.
Since then, at least three of Austin’s cousins have played for UH: Landon and Tyson Kafentzis and Mikhail Powell. He knows his father will be at the game Tuesday, but isn’t sure about the others, who have all returned to live in the mainland.
“Playing there in my final game as a Cougar means a lot,” Austin said. “It is cool that I am able to intertwine everything. It is a cool stadium, with lots of tradition, having hosted the Pro Bowl and all that. It’s just really exciting.”
It is also the scene of perhaps Austin’s greatest game as a Cougar. Two years ago, BYU downed UH 30-20 in a regular-season finale to finish 4-9 and deny the ’Bows a bowl bid. Kafentzis carried the ball 18 times for 98 yards and Squally Canada added 113 yards on 17 carries as the Cougars racked up 306 rushing yards.
The following spring, with then-offensive coordinator Ty Detmer having been replaced by Jeff Grimes, Kafentzis was moved to defense, where he has remained ever since save a few appearances in the wildcat and scrum formations on offense.
“It will be fun to go out there and line up on the defensive side and face a really, really good Hawaii offense. Coach Rolo will have those guys ready,” he said. “Hopefully I can make some plays. It will be fun to get out there and play for BYU against Hawaii after my father and uncles played for them against BYU. You probably don’t see that very often.”
Then again, you don’t see a guy play a half-dozen positions in one college career very often, either.
Cougars on the air
SoFi Hawaii Bowl
BYU (7-5) vs. Hawaii (9-5)
At Aloha Stadium, Honolulu
Tuesday, 6 p.m. MST
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL 1160 AM, 102.7 FM